TOK class notes: April 4, 2003 Spanish Period 6
Sara Patrick: note taker
Informal Fallacies
Neglecting the Whole Question: What Argument?
Examples:
Joe asks: was the Psych test hard?
Ana replies: Isn’t Mr. Ivey a great teacher?
Guy 1: I saw you at the bar last night with my sister
Guy 2: Isn’t that bar great, we should go there sometime.
Double Standard
It is easy for this to occur with things like drugs or sex, especially in regards to
parents and their experiences and relating them to the children. People will
normally say: well, that situation was different, so it does not apply here.
-Kids and Parents:
-Parents often avoid this situation because they don’t want their
kids to do what they did, and might later regret.
There are gender biases in regards to the double standard. It is different when a
girl does something, and then a guy does the same thing.
Example: the TV shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. People may
say that the guy is a pimp, but the girl, for doing the exact same thing, is a slut.
Where does this come from?
- Biology: the need for men to pass on their genes, so they sleep around.
Men can then walk away from their situation, whereas
women have to deal with the fact, they become pregnant.
- America has different standards for men and women, and how they
should behave. Men mature slower, so they have an excuse.
-Our society is also male-dominated
- Guys have been freer than women; they are not expected to act.
- Social factors: boys and girls are taught different things, and girls are
taught not to act
If women are the lesser sex, doesn’t it seem that women would be more likely to
be forgiven for bad actions, because society is harsher on men?
When guys go out, they are freer than girls according to their parents.
This double standard for guys and girls comes from wanting to protect women,
so in result they have less freedom.
-Though it may seem harsh, statistics show that 1 in 4 women get raped.
Biological?
- More guys rape women than women rape guys.
- Men are stronger, it may be easier. What man would say that he’d
been raped?
Making Faulty Assumptions
Examples:
- The shoes are bad because a week after Joe bought them he slipped
and broke his leg.
- Gap jeans are bad because they always get stained.
Appealing to the Irrelevant
Examples:
- When my friends and I argue, she always says: you sound British when
you yell.
- If I fail this test then I’m dropping out of school.
Personal Attacks:
- They don’t normally have anything to do with the person currently, but
hope to influence what you think of them at the present.
Example: Politics
Do people do informal fallacies intentionally?
- Yeah, they are function of life.
- They may have to do with self-consciousness.
Using Natural and Scientific Language Imprecisely or Manipulatively
Example:
- Dad is telling Mom that she is eating too much, so you use information
that you know from Psychology class, like say something about
defense mechanisms.
- Use to sell merchandise; if you buy this, then it will make you cool.
- Example: computers and technological stuff.
- People tend to believe information that sounds more scientific, figure that it
must be correct.